She sought $1.9 million - the court gave her eight cents on the dollar
A former Embassy of Mali employee won $155,509.27 in a sexual harassment and retaliatory firing case - after nearly losing it all over paperwork.
The worker sued in 2024, alleging she was terminated after refusing the Ambassador of Mali's sexual advances and reporting his conduct. The embassy never showed up to defend the claim.
In June 2026, the US District Court for the District of Columbia handed down default judgment, finding the embassy liable under both Title VII and the DC Human Rights Act. Liability was settled. Then came the hard part.
The court asked the worker to back up her damages claim. Her first submission was a single pay stub - written in French, no translation. The court gave her another shot, this time listing exactly what it wanted: job search proof, translated pay stubs with line-by-line explanations, and therapy cost records.
She came back with a translated pay stub, records of 75 job applications, and an unsigned letter from an employment services specialist. No therapy costs. No pay stub explanation. And her salary affidavits contradicted each other.
The court pulled the plug, dismissing the case without awarding damages.
But the worker moved for reconsideration - and the court relented. It found no legal error in its own earlier order but chose to reopen the matter to avoid "manifest injustice." With one final supplemental submission on the record, it worked with what it had.
She had asked for roughly $1.9 million. The court gave her about eight cents on the dollar.
Lost wages came in at $73,241.52 - two years' pay at $3,051.73 per month. The court noted her job search evidence only started in July 2024, a full year after her July 2023 termination, and saw nothing justifying three future years of compensation.
Emotional distress dropped from $700,000 to $50,000. The worker described nightmares, strained relationships, and withdrawal from social life, but offered no corroborating evidence beyond her own affidavits.
Punitive damages were blocked outright. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act bars punitive damages against a foreign state.
The court added $605 in costs and $31,662.75 in attorney fees.
For HR professionals, winning on liability means nothing if the damages file cannot stand on its own. Documentation, mitigation records, and third-party evidence matter just as much after the finding as the facts did before it.
